Cabinet



Filed Aug. 18, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 HAROLD LL/m I K v ay 11, 1943. H.c. BULLARD 2,313,921

CABINET Filed Aug. l8, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q i c Z6 H. C. BULLARDFiled Aug. 18, 1939 CABINET 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mun IP H

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19645040 0. 504 LA RD Patented May 11, 1943 STATS FNT OFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to cabinets, and in par ticular to cornercabinets designed to fit into the right angle between two meeting. wallsof a room. It has as its object the provision of a corner cabinetparticularly adapted to use as a china closet, which shall be cheaperand simpler to manufacture than existing structures, and which can. beshipped. and sold in ready-cut and knocked-down relation, and can beassembled and installed. by an unskilled person with the simplest oftools, and can be securely fixed in place and yet admits of being easilyand quickly removed without any appreciable damage to the existing wallsor surfaces thereof of the room, either for permanent removal or fortemporary removal for purposes of refinishing or redecorating. Anotherobject is to provide a corner cabinet which can be disassembled withoutdamage to itself to permit its removal through narrow doorways, or fortransport. Further objects are to provide a cabinet which can easily andsimply be made to fit closely'into corners which depart from true rightangles; to provide support for the shelves independently of and withoutdamage to the surfaces of the walls of the room; to support severalshelves in truly parallel relation to each otherand to the floor, andsecurely and with no tendency to rock. or teeter on their supports; togive themaximum of interior space Within the'cabinet up to the limitsimposed by the walls to which it is applied, and even to permit thesurfacing of the Walls to serve as the lining of the cabinet interiorand thus to harmonize with the decorative scheme of the room, butat thesame time to provide simply and easily for liningthe cabinet with rigidside walls if desired. Other objects of the invention, and the manner oftheir attainment, areas made plain hereinafter.

' To these ends, the invention in its basic 'form contemplates theprovision of three simple uprights to maintain the respective threecorners of the triangular shelves in spaced and parallel relationindependent of the walls of the room. In its preferred embodiment, thethree corners of. each shelf are cut oil and formed with dovetailedtongues extending across the corners and sliding into correspondinglyshaped dove-tailed pre-formed transverse grooves in the three uprights,thus providing both secure attachment and correct parallelism of theshelves. The upright forming the apex of the triangle which appears inthe plan view of the cabinet being alone secured at its top and middleby screws within the corner formed by the walls of the room, and withthe side pieces at the front-oi the cabinet adjustable'widthwisetransverselyof the cabinet into accurate conformity withthe flare of theWalls of the room, accuratefit and secure retention ofthe shelves and ofthe; whole cabinet in place without damage to or dependence on theWalls-is attainedgiwhile the walls or the papering or other surfacingthereon isrevealed within the cabinet between the shelves thereof. Also,the predetermined location' of the dove-tailed grooves and hence; of thelevels of the shelves assures the shelves being located accurately atthe proper heights to correspond with the bars'in the glass sash of thedoor of the cabinet. Themounting oi the shelves independently of thewalls oi'the roomor any interior lining walls ,oi the cabinet notonlywgives the greatest possibleuseful space within the cabinet,butgives a smooth: interior easy to finishand clean. The simplicity ofthe setting-up andinstallation of the improved cabinet obviates theexpense of both assembling thecabinet", before saleand of installationby skilled labor afterpurchase by the, user; being sold-in-knoc-keddownrelation, the expenses of crating, transportation;

and storagearecut to aminimum. Being-put together wholly with screws;it-can be-taken apart easily" without damage to the component-parts, forsubsequent re-erection. The three screws put through the three uprightsinto the corners of each sh'elf' hold the shelves fixedly in place and:

cause the shelves to brace the-whole assembly into a rigid structure. Itis asimple matter to cut and fit panels of plywood to cover the'entireareas. of the cabinet whiclrgo against'the'two Walls, if a lined cabinetis desired.

The. cabinet of the invention is especially adapted to the needs of apurchaser who is a tenant and who desires to remove the cabinet-with 1other household effects when he moves to another abode; In. addition toleaving the walls un-, marred after its presence, a reversal of theoper-" ationsr-pe'rformed in erecting-it, whichyare well within theskills of any average 'person'and require merelyithe us'e of ascrew-driver as the only tool,

resolves the cabinet without damage or marring of its. fini-s'hrinto'its component parts-for re-assembling'inthe new lo'catiom Inrte-decorating age for the usual-wooden;shelf 'cleats nailed directlyinto the plasterwall at levelswhich must correspond with the cross-barsin the glass sash and the counternosing, but which levels do not alwayscorrespond with the laths lying behind the plaster, are met with in theimproved construction. Many times plaster board or composition wallboardused in wall construction makes it impossible to get secure anchoragefor the nails used in holding the shelf cleats. The difliculty ofrunning the cleats so that the shelves will be perfectly level andsupported without teetering is also obviated.

In furtherance of the aim to make possible the shipment and handling ofthe knocked-down cabinet as cheaply as possible, the shelves areutilized as crating members on both sides of the glass sash of the door,so that a simple corrugated paper container can be used for the entirelot of parts comprising a cabinet and yet the glass or finish will notbecome damaged if other packages are dropped on the container duringshipment. Also, all parts are securely but temporarily fastened to thefront frame by brads to prevent the parts from sliding about in thepackage and doing damage to each other, and also to provide a square,rigid package suitable for safe transportation to any distance.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front view of the cabinet in assembledrelation and as it appears when installed.

, Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the basic structure comprising the shelvesand three uprights.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the parts of Fig. 3. r

1 Fig. 5 is a detail similar to the right-hand corner of Fig. 2, showingthe manner of fasteningthe parts together, and also showing how aplywood back or lining can be added to the cabinet if desired.

Fig. 6 is a detail in section on line 6-6 of Fig. 1, showing thearrangement of the counternosing and the corresponding shelf in relationto the upper door.

Figs. 7 and 8 are front and back views of the parts as lightly nailedtogether for shipment, showing how the shelves are used to protect theglass.

Fig. 9 is an end view of the parts of Fig. '7, showing how they arepacked in a light container for shipment.

Fig. 10 is a. detail of one of the joints of the cabinet.

- The basic structure of the cabinet comprises three uprights orshelf-supports l, 4, Figs. 3 and 4, provided with dove-tail grooves 2,Fig. 8, to receive the correspondingly dove-tailed tongues 3, Fig. 7, atthe truncated corners of otherwise triangular pieces 5 of wood formingthe shelves, counter shelf, and top of the assembled cabinet. The twoequal sides of these triangular pieces 5 are commonly disposed at anangle of 90 to each other, but may be made at any desired angle. Tosimplify production and erection, all of these pieces 5 are identical insize and shape. The dove-tailed grooves in the shelf-supports areaccurately formed at the same points in the length of each of the threeshelf-supports I, 4, and thus accurately locate the height of the threecorners of each shelf in a horizontal plane, and space the shelves andthe top in exactly parallel relation to each other. The dove-tailedjoint at each corner of the shelves is further secured by a screw 1driven through each shelf-support 1. into the, tongue of the shelf, thusmaking a 1 join each other.

very rigid structure, the feature of the dove-tails at right angles toeach other on each shelf preventing the shelf-supports from moving awayfrom the shelves and the screws preventing them from moving along theshelves, with the whole forming a triangular truss structure of greatrigidity. Accurately located screw-holes are provided in the uprightsand in registering position in the corners of the shelves at the factorywhen desired.

After the shelves and supports have been assembled and fastened, theresulting structure shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is then set temporarily inits intended location in the corner of the room. While in this position,two uprights which I term closure-members 9 are placed respectivelyagainst the front edge of each side shelf-support I and then movedlaterally toward the walls ll until the beveled edge [3, Fig. 5, of eachclosure-member fits tightly against the wall as in Fig. 2, thus entirelyclosing the space between the wall and the front or face plane of thecabinet. While the parts are held in this position, screws 15 are thendriven through each closure-member 9 Where it overlaps its adjacentshelf-support I, and into the said shelf-support. Three or four screwsin the length of the closure-member 9 are ample to fasten the lattersecurely to the shelf assembly. By this means, any gap otherwiseoccurring between the lateral edges of the cabinet and the walls as aresult of inequalities in the walls themselves or due to the anglebetween the walls not being a true can be satisfactorily closed.

The skeleton cabinet is hen removed from the corner and laid face downupon the back surface of the front frame unit ll, which comprises theentire structure shown in Fig. 1 with the exception of theclosure-members 9 partly visible at each side thereof. This front frameunit is ordinarily completely assembled at the factory, and shipped incomplete readiness for being mounted on the skeleton cabinet after thelatter has been assembled and fitted as described. The portions I9 ofthe door frame are received accurately between the portions of sideshelf-supports I which extend forward a slight distance beyond theshelves 5, and portions l9 rest snugly against the front edges of theshelves, top, and counter shelf as a result of the accurate control ofdimensions achieved through the dove-tailing of the shelves into theshelf-supports. Screws 2| are then driven through members l9 from theinside of the cabinet into the trim 23, herein & a reeded pilaster, andother screws 25 are similarly driven from behind through closure-members9 into the trim 23, about three screws in the length of each member 9, I9, being adequate. This fixes the skeleton cabinet and its front unitfirmly-together, and the cabinet is then ready for permanentinstallation.

To fix the cabinet in its permanent position in the corner, cornerblocks 21 are fastened in the apex of the angle between the walls ll ofthe room. These blocks 21 are specially shaped, being triangular in planwith their two equal sides set at slightly less than a right angle toeach other to permit them to fit into a corner which may be less than atrue right angle due to irregularities in plastering, and with the apexof the angle between the two equal sides truncated. The usual method ofconstructing buildings provides two or more studs 29 disposed as shownin Fig. 2 at each corner where two walls T s P its the passing of.

long slender screws 3i through holes previously'drilled in blocks 21,and through the plaster of walls H into these studs 29, thus firmly anchoring the corner blocks to the walls. Two of these corner blocks 21are customarily employed, one located at theupper end of the cabinetwithit's'top flush with the top 5 of the cabinet, filling the spacebetween such top and wall to prevent dirt accumulation, and the other atan intermediate point in the height of the cabinet, preferably justbelow the counter shelf. The cabinet is then fastened to the cornerblocks 21 by two screws 33' each passing through the back shelf-support4 and into one'of the two corner blocks 21. held in place by only twoscrews, and the corner blocks receiving these screws are themselvesattached to the building by only founscrews passing-through theplasterer other wall surfacing at an inconspicuous location in the Very.corner of the room, andwith no appreciable dam, agethereto. from thefront afterthe cabinet is: set in place. The only visible part of thefastenings holding the cabinet to the wall are=the heads of the twoscrews 33; these are easily accessible from the front of the cabinet sothat the cabinet may be removed to the center of the room for cleaningor painting, with easy access .toall parts because of the skeletonframework holding the shelves.

Where there is a baseboard along the walls to which the cabinet isapplied, the bottom ends of the side shelf-supports l and theclosure-members 9 are cut away to receive the thickness of thebaseboard, two short cuts in each of these four members being all thatis required. With the single exception of this use of a saw whereneeded, the entire cabinet is assembled with no other tool than ascrew-driver, and with all holes pre-formed this becomes the simplest ofoperations, the total screws to be driven totalling around forty. Byavoiding the use of nails I obviate the need for the considerable skillrequired to drive them without splitting the wood or doing damage tosurfaces thereof; the use of nails precludes the possibility ofdisassembling the cabinet for moving, without doing serious injury.

Where a lined cabinet is desired, sides made of plywood purchasedlocally can be applied in simple manner as indicated at 35 in Fig. 5,being cut to be coextensive with the height of the cabinet and wideenough to overlap part way onto the shelf-supports l at; the extremitiesof each equal side of the shelves 5, a few brads 31 driven through theplywood into the beveled edges of the shelf-supports I, 4, beingadequate to retain the sides in place. Where there is a baseboard, thesides 35 will be terminated at the top edge thereof.

For shipment, the various parts forming the cabinet are nested andtemporarily tacked together as shown in Figs. 7 to 9. The arrangement isdesigned to utilize the shelves 5 as crating on both sides of the glasssash door so that the glass or the finish of the door cannot :becomedamaged. Thus, two or three of the shelves 5 are tacked to the insideand to the outside respectively of the front unit IT by means of brads39 through the corners of the shelves, so that the shelves will extendacross the glazed portion of the sash door. Alternatively, one or moreshelves can be used to protect the front of the Thus, the entirecabinet-is- The corner blocks arenot visible bottom door from marring.The remainder of the parts required for the cabinet are tacked to theback of the front frame I! atvarious points, as shown in Fig. 8, theonly excesspieces of crating not employed in the erected cabinet being astrip of Wood 4|- nailed across the back of the pediment flush with theraised central portion; thereof, and a similar protectingstrip'fl acrossthe bottom of the lower door. With the parts thus tacked together, thewhole. is packedwithin a corrugated paper carbon or container 43, Fig.9, thus providing a square, fiat, .rigiclpack-. age. suitable for easy.handling. and storage: and safe transportation to any distance. 1

1 The cabinets can be shipped, either in an unfinished; or a highlyfinished state, either enameled or lacquered.

As is obvious, any desired type oftrim can be employed to suit the tasteof the purchaser, the construction of the cabinet imposing nolimitations in this respect. The. shelves areprovided with plate-grooves45, andthe shelves can: be reversed ifithese grooves are not wantedf0r.use; As shown in Fig. 6, theshelffi which-serves as the countershelf is located a. fractionofits-thicket ness above the level. of thevcounternosing At; which butts against it, so thatthe counter shelfforms a stop for the bottom of the sash. door, the door also stoppingagainst the edges of the uppershelves as well. Any one of the six.shelves may be used as a counter without special provision. A rail 48applied to the back of member 5110f the cabinet front extends slightlybelow sucnmember to form a stop for the, bottom door 49 Member 50 ispermanently attached by dowel 52'to the rest of the cabinet front.

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in which theinvention may be embodied l am aware that many modifications may bemadetherein by any person skilled in. the art, without. departing from thescope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do notwish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the details ofconstruction thereof, but

What I do claim is:

1. A corner cabinet having in combination shelves, uprights holding theshelves in vertically spaced and parallel relation, and the shelves inturn holding the uprights in fixed and parallel spaced relation, amember fitting the corner between two walls of a room, means for fixingsuch member within the corner, and means fixing one upright of thecabinet to such member.

2. A corner cabinet having in combination a plurality of shelves ofsubstantially right-triangular shape with truncated corners, twoshelfsupporting uprights in dove-tailed engagement with the corners atopposite ends of the shelves along lines parallel to the line bisectingthe right angle of each shelf, a third upright in dove-tailed engagementwith the third corner of each shelf along a line perpendicular to thesaid bisecting line, and decorative trim connected to each of the twofirst-named uprights.

3. A corner cabinet for attachment to the walls of a room, having incombination an element at the rearmost part of the cabinet to enter andbe secured within the angle of the room walls substantially at the apexofsuch angle, shelves in dove-tailed engagement with such element, and afront structure including a door and door frame rigidly held to suchelement and thus to the walls of the room by such shelves.

4. A packaged cabinet adapted to be packed fiat in a carton and forsubsequent assembly into g a unitary article, having in combination afront unit comprising a door, door frame, and trim in finished andassembled relation, a plurality of shelves temporarily tacked to suchunit so as to extend flatwise across and protect the door from injury,and shelf-supporting and wall-fitting members temporarily tacked to theback of such unit.

5- A cabinet having in combination a plurality of generally triangularshelves having truncated comers, and means holding such shelves inspaced and parallel relation, the shelves being joined to the saidholding means by dove-tails across the several corners of the shelvesand each disposed at right angles to another in the plane of a shelf,and the shelves having means extending through the joints to preventrelative motion lengthwise of the dove-tails.

6. A commercial package consisting of a readycut knocked-down cornercabinet to be subsequently assembled and connected together to form aunitary article for attachment to the walls of a room, comprising, incombination, a factory-assembled front structure consisting of a door,door-frame, and trim; a disassembled set of generally triangular shelveseach havin dovetails across its truncated corners, and tacked across thedoor to protect it during shipment; a plurality of shelf-supportstransversely grooved to receive the dove-tails on the several shelves,and tacked to the back of the door-frame; and closure-elements to fillthe space between the door-frame and the walls of a room between whichthe cabinet is to be installed, also tacked to the back of thedoor-frame.

7. A corner cabinet having in combination generally triangular shelveshaving truncated corners, uprights at opposite ends of such shelvesholding the latter in spaced and parallel relation,

and being held in like relation by the shelves, adjustableclosure-members for bridging the space between the uprights and thewalls of a room, means applied from the front of the cabinet for fixingsuch closure-members in adjusted position, and a front unit including adoor and door-frame joined to the shelves and uprights and hiding themeans fixing the closure-members, and other means fixing the front unitto the shelves and uprights and applied from within the cabinet to theback of the front unit. I

8. A cabinet fitting into the corner formed by two walls and the floorof a room, having in combination a plurality of generally triangularshelves having truncated corners, uprights supporting the opposite endsof the shelves at the front of the cabinet, means attached to therearward truncated corners of the shelves pulling the shelves and thusthe uprights-back into the corner, adjustable means varying the overallwidth of the front of the cabinet, and fastening means attached solelyto the cabinet securing the adjustable means in fixed position.

9. A cabinet fitting into the corner formed by two walls and the floorof a room comprising, in

combination, a shelf structure including generally triangular shelveshaving truncated comers, and. supporting means joining them together inspaced and parallel relation, means for drawing such structure back intothe corner, a front structure including a door and door-frame, and meansinterposed between and uniting the two structures and secured theretowith capacity for widthwise adjustment fitting the overall width of thefront part of the cabinet to the spacing of the room walls as determinedby the distance to which the said means draw the cabinet into the comer.

HAROLD C. BULLARD.

